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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. swing — in golf
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. spell — a short time
  5. bass — the fish
  6. tear — from crying
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. tear — from crying
  9. swing — to play on
  10. face — part of the head
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bass — low music
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. face — to point toward
  15. chest — of your body
  16. spell — letters
  17. face — to confront
  18. chest — a box
  19. swing — music
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. spell — magic
  24. bass — the instrument

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com